09 - Development of the Venture






		Founded in 1982, the Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises (HACE), a nonprofit community-development corporation, has been successful in pursuing two related activities. The first is support of business expansion and development, particularly in El Centro de Oro, the "Golden District" retail corridor along 5th Street (known as El Bloque de Oro), near Lehigh, where many Latino businesses are located. The second is the production of affordable housing. As not only a developer, but also a manager of housing and commercial ventures, the organization has produced more than 400 housing units and more than 30,000 square feet of office/retail space. HACE offers housing-counseling services and provides access to business loans. During the 1990s, HACE began implementing an ambitious plan to redevelop a former industrial site into residential units. The 5.5-acres of redevelopment are on the north side of Front Street west of Allegheny Avenue. This is the heart of the industrial corridors of Allegheny Avenue–Erie Avenue, an area that continues to maintain a mixture of uses: (1) industrial buildings (some new, some old, some abandoned); (2) blocks of late-19th-and-early 20th-century rowhouses; and (3) scattered commercial establishments to serve the residents and workers. The Caribe Development Zone comprises three elements: Villas del Caribe Address: 167 West Allegheny Avenue, at Palethorp Street, just east of 2nd Street 81 units of new-construction rental housing for families, completed in 1997, on a cleared city block. This low-rise development is arranged around landscaped courtyards and playgrounds, with a bisecting promenade featuring a tiled fountain. Villas del Caribe includes a community room, social services offices, and the offices of HACE. Stylistically, the development integrates the classic Philadelphia row-house-look with the cultural flavor of the local Hispanic community. The primary sources of development funding were (1) Low Income Housing Tax Credit (investment equity administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency) and (2) Community Development Block Grant (administered by the City of Philadelphia). Villas del Caribe was the 1998 winner of the Building Excellence Awards of the Delaware Valley, Residential Multi-family Category. Casa Caribe Address: 3231–65 North 2nd Street, at Westmoreland Street A 70-year-old, former industrial building, dramatically converted to 53 senior-living apartments. Completed in 1998, Casa Caribe is a joint venture between HACE and Episcopal Hospital, a nonprofit community teaching hospital. The building was stripped down to its structural framework. A typical floor plan includes a living-dining room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and storage area. Most of the financing for this development came from a federal program, Section 2902, with additional funds made available through the City's Community Development Block Grant program. Caribe Towers Address: 3231–65 North 2nd Street at Westmoreland Street Forthcoming conversion of a five-story former factory building into 57 apartments for elderly residents, which will have social-service facilities on the ground floor and possibly a grocery facility. A large adjacent garage has been demolished for parking. Anticipated completion date is Summer 2004. Section 2902 and Community Development Block Grant funding are expected to support most of the cost of development. The Caribe Development Zone exemplifies the reclamation of a former industrial site in a way that is suitable for its time and place. It includes new housing built at lower-than-traditional density (providing a generous amount of green space); the blending of housing and services at a single location, and the conversion of an obsolete industrial building to residential use. The zone is particularly well located near additional community and institutional services, as well as other amenities such as shopping and banking. Public transportation provides quick connections that link Allegheny Avenue to other neighborhoods and to the downtown area. For additional information, contact: Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises 215/426-8025 voice 215/426-9122 fax 167 West Allegheny Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19140 www.hacecdc.org For additional information on the design and construction of Villas del Caribe and Casa Caribe, contact Kitchen & Associates Architectural Services 856/854-1880 voice 856/854-3842 fax 756 Haddon Avenue Collingswood, NJ 08108 www.kitchenandassociates.com J. J. DeLuca Company, Inc., General Contractors 610/995-9440 voice 610/995-2928 fax 125 Strafford Avenue, Suite 200 Wayne, PA 19087 www.jjdeluca.com
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